A man wades in a flooded street in Acapulco, Mexico as Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel triggered rain, landslides and floods on Mexico's east and west coasts Sunday.

By:Reuters, Published on Sun Sep 15 2013

MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel brought heavy rains to Mexico’s Gulf and Pacific coasts on Sunday, causing flooding and landslides that killed 17 people and forced some towns to cancel national Independence Day celebrations.

Thousands of people sought emergency shelter as the two storms moved closer to land and caused rivers and streams to burst their banks.

“There is a lot of water and the rivers are full,” said Luis Felipe Puente, national co-ordinator for Mexico’s emergency services. “There will be yet more rain when the storms make landfall.”

In Guerrero state on Mexico’s Pacific coast, 11 people died in landslides and as buildings collapsed because of heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday. In the states of Puebla and Hidalgo, three people were killed when a wall collapsed and three people were carried away by a strong current.

On the Gulf coast, Hurricane Ingrid, a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 120 km/h, was drenching Tamaulipas and Veracruz states on Sunday, sending more than 6,000 people into emergency shelters.

Mexico’s state oil monopoly Pemex, which has most of its installations in the Gulf, evacuated three platforms off the Tamaulipas coast on Sunday.

In Veracruz, there have been landslides and localized flooding, but no injuries or deaths reported, local emergency services officials said.

Ingrid, which was located 175 km from Tampico, Veracruz is expected to bring hurricane conditions to Veracruz and Tamaulipas early on Monday morning when the storm is forecast to reach land.

The storm could strengthen slightly before reaching land, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

On the Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Manuel was weakening after making landfall, but the risk of flash flooding and landslides continues, the NHC said.

Manuel had sustained winds of 75 km/h and the storm was bringing high waves and between 25 to 38 cm of rainfall to the area’s beach resorts, including Acapulco.

Flooding that reached up to two meters in some places was affecting parts of Acapulco, Puente said.